Jon Venables ‘will launch brazen bid for freedom in WEEKS’ after being recalled to jail over vile child sex abuse images
EVIL child killer Jon Venables is expected to launch a brazen new bid for freedom in weeks, The Sun can reveal.
The monster, now 39, was recalled to jail for a second time in November 2017 for hoarding nearly 1,200 vile child sex abuse images.
But Venables has been told moves to offer him yet ANOTHER chance to fight for his release are already underway.
And The Sun understands a file could now be formally referred to the Parole Board by officials as early as April.
James Bulger's murderer has been back in prison for almost five years - and sources say he has a "strong chance" of going free because of his “positive” progress inside.
Last night a source said: "Venables spent three years in prison after his first recall before being freed.
"This time around he's already done four years.
"If he's complied with prison treatment programmes and continued to make progress, then he stands a strong chance of release.
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"And if the Parole Board rules he's safe to go free, then only the Justice Secretary can prevent it."
The Sun understands officials have already begun the mammoth task of preparing for the looming parole case.
Expert reports, including the views of prison officers, psychiatrists and even those of Venables himself, are being drawn up to form a highly sensitive dossier.
Once complete, the file will be formally sent to the Parole Board itself, sparking a formal "referral" - probably in April.
The referral fires a starting gun on a process that could take up to another six months to complete.
The Board must first decide if it should hold a full oral hearing, and seek evidence from witnesses, or just assess the case on the documents in front of them.
But sources say Venables' notoriety, life licence and history of repeat offending means an oral hearing is a "racing certainty" in this case.
FREEDOM BID
Venables will be given a copy of his Parole Board dossier and offered the chance to appear before the panel to argue for his freedom.
Yet any full hearing is likely to be cloaked in secrecy to protect Venables' latest new identity.
Officials expect it to take place in autumn this year.
Venables was last denied parole in October 2020 after experts found he still had "an attraction to sexual violence".
But officials also praised his "positive" behaviour, said he was learning "better ways of thinking" and added he had taken part in sex offender programmes inside.
The panel, which can include serving judges, are able to rule a prisoner fit for release if it is satisfied "it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public" to keep them locked up.
But any decision to release Venables would spark fury from James' family, who believe the killer will always pose a grave threat to young children.
And the drawn-out process will only add to the vast £6.5 million bill taxpayers are estimated to have already forked out trying to rehabilitate the beast.
If the Parole Board rules he's safe to go free, then only the Justice Secretary can prevent it.
Sun Source
In 2015 it emerged Venables had cost taxpayers £279,000 ALONE in overtime payments made to prison officers tasked with watching him 24/7 over an 18-month period.
Venables and pal Robert Thompson were ten when they abducted, tortured and murdered two-year-old James in Merseyside in February 1993.
Both were released in June 2001 with new identities and on lifelong licence after being ruled they were no longer a danger to the public.
The killers also enjoy blanket anonymity, protected by one of the strictest gagging orders ever imposed on the media.
The public are barred from knowing his new name or even the prison where he is held.
But despite being given every chance by the state, Venables has twice been recalled to prison for grim child sex offences in 2010 and 2017.
Critics say Venables' serial offending means his costly secret identity should be stripped from him.
Others - like James Bulger's parents - say he should remain locked up for good.
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The Sun can also reveal James' dad, Ralph Bulger, is locked in a court battle with the Ministry of Justice over their handling of the Venables case.
He wants the government to disclose thousands of secret records in a bid to shed light on their handling of his son's killer.
